Finding Older Historical Games at GOG.com
For a history educator, trying to find suitable simulation games to use in class can be a significant obstacle to using the medium. I have made some lists of potentially viable historical games in Gaming the Past (2011) and my website gamingthepast.net. Hard as it is for me to believe,Continue Reading
Let’s Play: Far Cry Primal Ep.2: An “Archaeological” Exploration
This is a guest post by Philip Riris, an archaeologist with the Institute of Archaeology at University College London. His research interests run the gamut from digital data in archaeology to cave art to the archaeology of South America. Philip’s first post in this series is here. The second episodeContinue Reading
Writing the History of the Universe Inside EVE Online: An interview with Andrew Groen
Andrew Groen is a journalist and former contributor to outlets like Wired and the Penny Arcade Report and also written for publications like Popular Science and Ars Technica. He also has written an extensive history of the events which occurred inside the Massively Multiplayer Online Game Eve Online. His websiteContinue Reading
Let’s Play: Far Cry Primal Ep.1: An “Archaeological” Exploration
This is a guest post by Philip Riris, an archaeologist with the Institute of Archaeology at University College London. His research interests run the gamut from digital data in archaeology to cave art to the archaeology of South America. Far Cry Primal has succeeded in generating a significant buzz inContinue Reading
Minecraft as a 3D Cultural Heritage Modeling Tool in the Classroom
Jessie Craft teaches Latin and ancient history at Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools; he recently published ‘Rebuilding an Empire with Minecraft’ in CAMWS Classical Journal, Vol 111.3, Feb./March 2016 based on those experiments in his classroom. Introduction By now, Minecraft has established a solid reputation for itself in academia. The positive results ofContinue Reading
The Oral History of MMOs
This is a guest post by Josh Howard, a PhD Candidate in the Public History Program at Middle Tennessee State University. He is also one of four editors for the Sport in American History Blog, and spoke recently at the NCPH conference about the function of video games in encouraging empathetic engagementContinue Reading
In the Trenches: Verdun Developer Interview, part 2
This article is part 2 of a two-part interview with the creators of the World War 1 themed first-person shooter multiplayer game, Verdun. To read part 1, please click on this link. In this second and final part of our interview with the developers of Verdun, we further discussContinue Reading
In the Trenches: Verdun Developer Interview, part 1
This article is part 1 of a two-part interview with the creators of the World War 1 themed first-person shooter multiplayer game, Verdun. To read part 2, please click on this link. Introduction World War 1 was one of the bloodiest conflicts of history, a conflict that lastedContinue Reading
When Odysseus lets you type “get lamp,” you’re going to be illuminated
“But tell me, and tell me true, whether you saw any of the mighty heroes who went to Troy at the same time with yourself, and perished there.” Thus speaks King Alcinous of the Phaeacians, when Odysseus has claimed himself to be too tired to continue the marvelous tale ofContinue Reading
VALUE: Videogames and Archaeology at Leiden UnivErsity
This invited post introduces the VALUE project, which I think should be on the radar screen for readers of Play the Past – ed. Introducing VALUE Hello gamers and archaeologists, we are VALUE: a new research group about Videogames and Archaeology at Leiden UnivErsity. Our lore A few months ago, Aris PolitopoulosContinue Reading